Tuesday 29th July

Our last full day in New York and time to finish off the to see list. Having now got the hang of the subway we hopped onto one to take us to the South of the Island which didn't turn out to be as simple as we had hoped but we did get there in the end. With a very small amount of queueing we got on the boat to Liberty Island to go and get a close up of the statue which we managed to do despite the intense heat even at 10.30am in the morning.

After a boat ride back to Manhattan we caught another subway which took us to Coney Island which is awful, it is the only time while we were in New York that I felt even slightly unsafe so we didn't stay long - just long enough to visit the Aquarium and for the boys to go on the roller coaster.

We returned to Manhattan and dropped the big camera off at the hotel, got some dinner and then headed off to go on "The Beast" which was fantastic. On your last night in New York what better thing could you do than go on a speed boat ride out to Liberty with pumping music and the sun almost setting - "Awesome"!!

After a bit of shopping we had time for a couple more shots before we went to bed.

Starbucks at 12:15am

See how close our hotel was to "Times Square".

Monday

Yesterday morning saw us rushing down to the Downtown heliport in a taxi to catch our 10am flight. I can not put into words what an amazing experience it was even with the mist that covered everything. It was the best 20 minutes ever and worth every single penny that it cost us.

The plan was to then go to the Statue of Liberty but things didn’t quite go to plan as the queue was enormous so we decided to get the first boat out there this morning before we head off to Coney Island. After a drink, and a quick photo shoot we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge which was unbelievably hot.

After a quick walk uptown along Canal Street then through Chinatown and Little Italy we hopped into a cab and back to the hotel to drop off some stuff and have a quick 30 minute sit down before we headed out to the coolest sweet shop ever – Dylan’s Candy Bar where the tables were made of gum balls (gob stoppers to you and me) ……

The next stop was the “MOMA” for a very quick 45 minute visit as it was just about to shut. It was long enough for us to see everything we really wanted to see but I could have spent a lot longer in the “Dali” exhibition as it was spectacular. I never realised his paintings were so small and detailed I just presumed they were larger than they are, unfortunately it was the only area that we couldn’t take photographs. This one was everyone elses favourite....

Cheesecake from Junior’s at Grand Central Station then beckoned and boy was it good. We had 2 slices between the four of us and we only finished half of each they were that big but it must be the best Cheesecake ever.

The final stop of the day was at The Empire State building and after nearly a 2 hour queue we got to the very, very busy 86th floor. To say we weren’t impressed was an understatement the view was stunning as it was dark but the amount of people up there was horrible.

Picture to be added

The Rock was so much better as there were no queues, there was hardly anyone at the top and as a bonus you got to see all of Central Park and the Empire State building.

I will finish adding pictures later as we have to leave now to go to Liberty and Coney Island.

Sunday

Our first full day in New York left us totally exhausted. After watching some of the many, many runners go past the hotel.......

we headed off into Central Park with plenty of water to keep us hydrated in the heat. We decided against the bikes because of the marathon so ended up walking for about 2 hours. A trip into the zoo was then in order which was a bit bizarre in a thunder storm surrounded by skyscrapers.

We went back to the hotel to drop off the big camera as it was getting heavy and to jump on the subway to Grand Central Station where I had planned to have a large piece of cheesecake. I say planned as I couldn't actually face it after my Beef Brisket sandwich which I swear had half a cow on it, it was that big.

A long walk down the full length of 42nd street towards the terminal for the boat ride followed with a stop to buy some shoes and some ice cream to die for from The Cold Stone Creamery. After you order your ice cream of choice they get the ice cream slap it on a stone surface add the bits and pieces (in my cake cookie dough, chocolate sauce, fudge sauce and choc chips) and then they mix it altogether and put it in the container of your choice - DIVINE! We came out and walked down to the port but by the time we got there the storm had set in and we decided a speed boat may not be the best idea so a taxi was hailed to take us back to Macy's where I only managed to buy a bag. Another storm headed in so we went to Planet Hollywood where we had a very disappointing meal but with the discount we got on the New York Pass it only cost us £15 for the three of us which included 6 large drinks and a £5 tip that was added on to the bill. The card then got used again in Madam Tussuad's which entertained us for an hour before we went to the cinema in Times Square to watch Hellboy 2.

Not sure what my face is all about, he was pinching my bum at the time so it could have been that!! It was lighter when we came out of the cinema than when we went in as all the lights had come on which was rather weird. I have been looking out for the Naked Cowboy ever since we got here but it has been on the news that he has been arrested for some reason so I don't think he is about at the moment. However, as we walked back to the hotel Pete thought his luck was in when he spotted the naked cowgirl in a little black bikini complete with boots and cowboy hat so he headed off in her general direction you should have seen his face when he realised that she was over 60 years old. We didn't get many pictures today as Pete was in charge of the camera for a while and then we dropped it off and only had the small camera and the pictures didn't turn out that well.

Show Off Sunday

How totally A MAZE ING is this city - it's even better than I remember. Kyle is not impressed though as he says it smells bad and I must admit there are some rather interesting smells. It hasn't all gone well so far it started with us getting thrown off the plane in Toronto just as we were about to take off as the tail fin needed replacing, in hind sight I think it best that we had to get off. An hour later when we were all sat in a replacement plane the airport went on to red alert because of a storm and everything was grounded for another hour. When we got on our way the flight was a bit bumpy but generally a good and very quick flight. I had managed to get the window seat by default (Kyle broke the screen on this seat so HAD to swap with me earlier in the flight) and because we were landing at Laguardia the plane did a full circle of Manhattan and I got to see it all through the window. I don't think I have ever been so excited in my life - the helicopter ride tomorrow morning might just top it though!!

Pete now understands why I said we wouldn't be getting many taxi's while we were here as we had the scariest car journey ever from the airport to the hotel mainly on the wrong side of the road at high speed, the less said about that the better. From our room on the sixth floor we can see Central Park in one direction and Times Square in the other so it's kinda cool especially if you are fourteen.

The hotel is good with revolving doors in the lobby to entertain the kids - which they sadly do. The one bag we bought with us got thrown into the room and we headed out into the heat to our first stop which was here ....

THE ROCK

from the top we saw this one way.....

and this the other way.....

We spent about an hour up there before coming back down and heading off here.....

to look like English tourists.....

Why am I blogging while I am in New York I hear you asking?? Well here it is only 6.30am (when I started anyway) and we have chaos outside the hotel window as the half marathon is just about to start and come passed our window soon so the street is closed off and full of NYPD. The reason I'm awake at such a silly time? A huge thunderstorm about an hour ago.

Today's plan is to do Central Park, Central Park Zoo, THE BEAST speed boat ride, Shopping at Macy's, Grand Central Station (for cheesecake) and then the Empire State Building late tonight (about 10pm) and if we have the time a quick visit to the MOMA for Matt and I. I think we may sleep well tonight after I have blogged of course!

**MIMA** I wish I could come over and give you a biiiggg hug but I am thinking of you and sending you lots of cyber hugs and kisses.